‘Thought about which car should I buy’: Rohit Sharma recalls his first IPL auction

Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, team India and Mumbai India skipper Rohit Sharma recalled his experience during the first IPL auction.

It was a wonderful occasion for the then 20-year-old Rohit, who was bought by the now-defunct Deccan Chargers for a whopping Rs 4.8 crore in 2008.

Going down the memory lane, Rohit reminisced that he was overwhelmed by the news of his purchase and was already thinking about which car to buy.

“A thing like the auction had never happened for us before and nobody even heard of it. My number came very late in the auction, probably after one and a half hours. After I was sold, I was really happy and thought about which car I should buy. That was the planning I was doing! I was only 20 years old at that time,” Rohit said during a recent interview.

Notably, Rohit performed splendidly during his stint with the Deccan Chargers. He scored a staggering 1170 runs in three seasons. Subsequently, his impressive performance caught the attention of the Mumbai Indians, who bought him for a staggering Rs 13 crore in 2011.

Since then, the right-handed aggressive opener has been an integral part of the Mumbai Indians. He led the franchise to IPL glory in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. Mumbai Indians also won the Champions League T20 competition in 2013 under his able leadership.